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Station Area Master Plan – Streetscapes and Placemaking
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Toolkit for Buffer Area Improvements
Today, the Buffer Area along streets in Downtown Morgan Hill typically consists of a
parking lane used for parallel parking. The parked cars act as a buffer between moving cars
and people walking on sidewalks. At Downtown intersections, the City has constructed
bulb-outs in the Buffer Area that visually narrow the street, shorten pedestrian crossing
distances, and help to calm traffic. In the future, the City could also consider using portions
of the Buffer Area used for parking as a more flexible space that complements and improves
the adjacent pedestrian realm while freeing up sidewalk space to accommodate higher
levels of pedestrian traffic or activities. Suggested strategies and improvements for Buffer
Areas include the following:
A.
Planted Bulb-outs at Intersections
B.
Parklets
C.
Temporary Parklets
A. : Planted Bulb-outs at Intersections
As part of its Placemaking Strategy, the City has installed bulb-outs at Monterey Road
intersections. As further improvements to Monterey Road are considered, the City could
contemplate further extending bulb-outs at intersections all the way to the edge of the
travel lane. Doing so would further enhance the bulb-out’s contribution to traffic calming
and increase the reduction in pedestrian crossing distances.
Bioretention planters, which the City has already installed in the Buffer Area along the
walkway next to the new parking garage, provide a benefit to the environment by filtering
pollutants from stormwater runoff in
the street and ease the strain on local
stormwater infrastructure by slowing
down the peak of runoff volumes that
flow to the local stormsewer system.
The City could also consider installing
green infrastructure elements, such as
bioretention planters, in retrofitted
existing planted bulb-outs or potential
new bulb-outs.
Figure 2-19: Example of planted bulb-out between parking
spaces